Monday, May 1, 2017

----"He has no life. My son is alive but without life," said Shahab. "As a parent, it's so terrible. He is totally dependent on me. I give him showers. I feed him. He needs 24-hour personal support and supervision. I don't have family members here, only my husband."-------Because of her son's size and aggression, Shahab can't take her son outside by herself. She's afraid he will act up, or worse, walk into traffic. Recently, Yar Khan was diagnosed with clinical depression. "He stopped eating, laying down in the room until 2 p.m. He looks very, very sad," Shahab said. "He lays down on the couch because we do not have enough support to take him in the community." While her son is now on anti-depressants, Shahab said that does not address the bigger issue. -------"I wish there's something in the community where he can go, where I feel he is safe and people are trained," she said. "He really needs trained staff, a structured environment. The government should make changes because this is not only my story. This is the story of so many people who are living the same life."------

There is no excuse for this sort of sad situation. Government is required to provide services and supports for handicapped citizens. Children and youth with autism grow up and their families cannot manage all by themselves. In fact, no family with a severely handicapped child should go through this junk. Social media should expose this failure by government. Get going folks. Social media this.#SocialMediaChangesEverything

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It has never occurred to me that there would not be programs to help parents with severely handicapped children, youth and adults but apparently in Ontario when a school dumps out a student for behavioural issues the family is stuck with 24/7 care. This is mind boggling. Surely there is a better way?

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Abdullah Yar Khan is 16 years old, six feet tall and weighs 200 pounds. He doesn't speak, he's not toilet trained and he is getting increasingly aggressive.

These days, his mother, Shabana Shahab, is his primary caregiver.

"He has no life. My son is alive but without life," said Shahab. "As a parent, it's so terrible. He is totally dependent on me. I give him showers. I feed him. He needs 24-hour personal support and supervision. I don't have family members here, only my husband."

Excluded from school

Up until six months ago, Yar Khan attended Holy Names Catholic High School in Windsor, Ont.

Shahab told CBC News he was excluded from attending in November 2016 after her son hit an educational assistant.

Part of the ticket Shabana Shahab received from her son's school when he was excluded. She received an official letter later on.

"He gets aggressive because he's not able to communicate his needs," she said, which can be common among severely autistic people, according to experts.

The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board could only confirm exclusions are a last resort. The Ministry of Education does not track exclusions at this time.

Clinically depressed

Shahab has access to respite help, but not during school hours.

"There's no place for our kid. Our life is like a living hell," said Shahab. "We are getting older. My son is getting bigger. He needs two people for personal care. We face all these challenges alone."

Abdullah Yar Khan, 16, has severe autism. He doesn't speak and he is not toilet trained. (Lisa Xing/CBC)

Because of her son's size and aggression, Shahab can't take her son outside by herself. She's afraid he will act up, or worse, walk into traffic.

Recently, Yar Khan was diagnosed with clinical depression.

"He stopped eating, laying down in the room until 2 p.m. He looks very, very sad," Shahab said. "He lays down on the couch because we do not have enough support to take him in the community."

While her son is now on anti-depressants, Shahab said that does not address the bigger issue.

'They need help'

"I wish there's something in the community where he can go, where I feel he is safe and people are trained," she said. "He really needs trained staff, a structured environment. The government should make changes because this is not only my story. This is the story of so many people who are living the same life."

Michelle Helou, president of Autism Services Inc. of Windsor and Essex County, says the lack of services and funding affects families across the province.

"If they cannot stay in school, there's no place to put them," said the mom, who has an autistic 19-year-old son, Noah. "There's no program out there geared for their high needs."

Michelle Helou, president of Autism Services Inc., says there's no help for youth who are excluded from school. (Lisa Xing/CBC)

Helou credits her son's success in high school to a program that helped severely autistic children transition back into schools in the community.

He spent three years learning the skills to return to school. Funding for the program at Maryvale Adolescent and Family Services in Windsor ran out shortly after Noah left.

"Now, all of a sudden your child is home 24/7," said Helou. "You're not getting a break. Who's going to watch after your child? Parents have bills to pay. It can cause a lot of stress."

A respite worker who took care of Yar Khan last summer said she's worried about the family.

"The stress of the family is extreme," she said. "Both of his parents are of ill health. They're really left high and dry in a lot of ways."

New program in June

Windsor-West MPP Lisa Gretzky, who was education critic, said the government ministries involved in creating support for young autistic people need to be "more coordinated." She also explained how schools need more funding to accommodate students like Yar Khan, and there needs to be programs in the community if a student is excluded.

When asked about the support, Michael Coteau, the minister of children and youth services, said, "The one thing I've heard loud and clear from parents in Ontario is the system is overwhelming and complex and finding those resources is sometimes difficult. My job is to make sure we build better entry points that allow more flexibility and guidance to where they can get those services."

The province is rolling out a new autism program in June, spending half a billion dollars over five years to improve and expand services for young people with autism, though there are few details about if and how it will help families like Shahab's.

'A day and night fight'

In the meantime, Shahab continues to care for her teenage son, with that sparse support from respite services.

"What really gets my heart is the regression I'm seeing with the child," said Jones, who cared for Shahab's son last year. "The child is losing what little they have in their lives. To be closed and encased like this, it's a crime. It's debilitating. Their life is dwindling away."

Shahab said she never had sleep issues in her life, but since the exclusion six months ago, she started suffering from insomnia. Her husband had a heart attack last June and she was unable to be with him as he recovered in hospital. And she's worried about what will happen to her son if they are both sick. Or worse.

"It's a day and night fight," she said

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FOSSIL FUEL ENERGY NEWS

All our information was gathered after our family experienced immense and irrevocable impacts from intense non-conventional resource extraction projects around our home. Instead of operating and enjoying our organic farm to the best of our abilities, these past few years we have been trying to save it.

It was decided that instead of throwing all that time and energy to the wolves, we will endeavour to make the best of what has been some of the worst experiences we have had as a family.

The discrepancies of what one is told by oil and gas companies and what is actually occurring are vast, almost incomprehensible and the public must be educated on the real landscape of fossil fuel dependency. From the toxins used and produced to the falsified economic benefit, our predominant energy choices are harming us. This section of our site is here to present the truth on oil and gas operations, from the financials to the actual chemicals used in fracks, if they are ever to be disclosed, that is.

Only when each and every person is educated will we have the power to insist on change. Ignorance and apathy are the cornerstones of keeping this horrible industry in control of our communities, they also prey on our trust.

It has also always been a goal to transition our farm to renewable energy and will post our experiences with that process here. I actually promised Angle's construction supervisor our farm would be off-grid in the years to come. I will honor that promise to the best of my ability.

Dual incinerators burning sour gas, that operated non-compliantly, with visible flame, for 19 days south of our home.

Incineration, especially during well testing can result is less than 70% combustion efficiency, creating more than 150 hydrocarbon toxins. The noise generated from these tin telescopes is described by the AER as "sonic jet noise" yet the Directives state that a company cannot create more than 50 decibels of noise during the day and 4o at night. However, the AER has given industry a loop hole and now if a company tells you that operations will be excessively loud for the duration of drilling and completions they have no obligation to keep noise within these limits. The AER provides no scientific information for the public on the actual efficiency and subsequent health harm from exposure to incineration and flaring. This activity is potentially lethal and you have the right to request companies relocate you and your livestock for the duration of drilling and completions, especially during a sour gas operation. This event received a historical non-compliance as an audit revealed Angle did not submit a request via the AER DDS system for an extension of flare time, from 72 hours to 19 days. However, the AER refused to levy a high risk non-compliance for the operation of an incinerator with exposed flames.

If we are successful in our litigation against Angle Energy, now Bellatrix Exploration, any punitive damages we receive will be invested back into our community and towards programs that protect our natural resources, public health and help further education and development of renewable energy. If you have experienced adverse effects from oil and gas operations near your home and would like to submit a statement for our action email the: givingfarm@gmail.com

My apologies ahead of time, digging deep into what is happening regarding energy in Alberta and our entire planet is disheartening. I have nothing good to say about it, but hope that in saying it, something good will come of it. Please get involved in your own way. This should not be happening in our backyards, thousands, millions of times over.

5-15 sour crude oil site, used for 3 years as waste and pipe storage, no secondary containment, top-soil push backs not replaced, drainage directly into Rosebud River and with the potential to impact our water well, also 100m away from an abandoned Bonavista well. The 500 barrel tank in background is one of two that held sour crude oil and vented the sour gas that disassociates from the liquid to atmosphere. These emissions were not properly disclosed to us during notifications, evidenced by a high-risk non-compliance upon audit of the well. Decline rates of wells are steep within the first year, 60-70% in the Cardium. One tank was removed because of this decline, the other removed after the AER investigated the well sites near our home, the sites that were venting hydrocarbons were tied into the local pipeline.

Hydraulic fracturing uses a small amount of chemicals or additives. This is criminally not true. The chemicals used and produced by the drilling, fracturing, processing and consumption of tight/shale hydrocarbons is so large, it's hard to comprehend. Harder yet to understand is just how companies, synergy and regulators can advertise such mis-truth about the volumes involved here. They get away with it because very few people look into it and no-one can really see it's accumulations and harm. They shove it in the folds, caverns and underground rivers of deep Earth, with overt assurances it will never surface, or interact with highly fractured environments, that are under intense and continual pressure.

The world is a churning, spinning, tilting wonder of physics. This eternal cyclic force is simply represented by the molten core of Earth ever creating and consuming land. There are no static environments on Earth, the waste we make not only will harm, it has already harmed. It's not a small amount.

Times this by 6 (now 7) and make it all toxic hydrocarbon chemicals, this is our home and was not imaginary. This DOES NOT include drilling chemicals used, produced water from the formation, the methanol continually injected into the well bore or the waste gases and emissions from flaring, venting, acidizing, cementing, pigging, incineration, fugitive sources,(instrumentation, valves, thief hatches, etc) spills, loss of circulation and intense equipment and vehicular traffic.

Natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing chemicals with 10 or more health effects

When a tight oil boom invaded rural Alberta five years ago, Diana Daunheimer was, as she puts it, just another "ignorant landowner."

The mother of two and vegetable farmer knew little about the practice of horizontal drilling or multi-stage hydraulic fracturing.

The practice involves the injection of highly pressurized fluids into mile deep wells that later mole out horizontally for another mile or two, in order to break open shale rock as tight as granite.

To coax lower-quality oil out of the Cardium Formation as well as other pancakes of shale rock deep below west-central Alberta, industry increased its use of the practice around 2009 and created a black gold rush that has industrialized many rural communities with constant traffic and polluting flare stacks.

Daunheimer knew even less about the Alberta Energy Regulator, formerly the Energy Resources Conservation Board, which referees the industry in the province.

But as the number of horizontal fractured wells in the Cardium Formation jumped from 70 to 2,000 over four years, and oil production skyrocketed from 2,000 to 80,000 barrels a day, Daunheimer quickly became informed.

And with five fracked wells owned by Calgary-based Angle Energy, and another one by Bonavista, about half a kilometre from her home, she's formed some strong opinions on the mining process -- and become a royal pain in the butt for industry and regulators alike.

Daunheimer, who studied science in university, recently warned a Yukon legislative committee currently studying the benefits and risks of fracking in that territory to "courteously decline" the technology.*

"Wait and see the fallout from what's happening in the United States and what's going to happen south of you, folks, and then if you still feel it's an economically-wise decision, then look at it," she said on Feb. 13.

The 39-year-old is also suing Angle, now owned by Bellatrix, for $13 million. Filed three months ago, her claim alleges that the company did not exercise reasonable care while fracking its oil and gas wells near her home between 2008 and 2012.

It also alleges that Angle's drilling activity resulted in damaged property, dead livestock, a tumour on Daunheimer's daughter's neck and contaminated well water, along with two years of unrelenting stress.

A statement of defence filed by Angle in early February denies all of Daunheimer's claims.

Daunheimer is handling the lawsuit, which she calls "extremely frustrating and life-altering," on her own, because she says she likely knows more than most lawyers about the industry and couldn't afford to do it any other way.

"I call myself mommy bear," she says. "I protect my young, and I love where I live. I put my heart and soul into this house. I got married here. Why should I get pushed out of my home just because someone is doing stuff illegally? It's insane."

Industry routinely claims fracking is "safe and proven," and the Alberta Energy Regulator, likewise,assureslandowners that the practice is "responsible" and that "cumulative impacts are minimized."

But that's not what Daunheimer says she experienced around her home, which her family purchased in 2002. "We've had all the cumulative impacts any family can handle," she says.

In Alberta, several landowner groups, municipalities, the city of Lethbridge, water experts, and politicians have also raised concerns about the practice.

Number of horizontal well licenses granted in Alberta. Source: Alberta Energy.

Brian Mason, Alberta's New Democrat leader, recentlycharged that fracking is not only "out of control" but "is increasing on a dramatic scale without any understanding of what the potential consequences will be."

A sour new neighbour

For years Daunheimer, a former environmental coordinator for the city of Airdrie, raised organic vegetables for high-end Calgary restaurants on her acreage.

But in 2008 her life started to change, when Angle drilled and fracked two wells simultaneously 25 metres apart with highly-pressurized fluids some 400 metres from her farm, west of Didsbury in south-central Alberta.

It caused endless traffic, noise and diesel fumes, but the Daunheimers figured that was normal activity in a province dependent on hydrocarbon revenue.

The family sat up and took notice, Daunheimer says, when the company drilled and fracked a sour gas well south of the property in Aug. 2010.

After performing a propane fracture on the well, located 377 metres from their house, the company then burned off unwanted gas for 19 days.

The company flared off "all the non-profitable gas to get to the money-making oil," explains Daunheimer -- a common practice in the oil patch and now recognized as wasteful and a potentialrisk to public safety in North Dakota.

Two incinerators that sounded like jet engines roared day and night. The smoky pollution terrified her chickens and goats and gave the family headaches, spells of dizziness and chronic respiratory infections, she says.

People in the industry (Daunheimer's husband, Derek, is a rig manager in the oil patch) told the family that they should have been evacuated during the event.

Three weeks afterwards, the family's goats aborted 50 per cent of their offspring, while Daunheimer's 10-year-old daughter developed a tumour on her neck.

It took Daunheimer a while to take action. Only after using freedom of information laws to access drilling and other records last year did she realize the potential danger and scale of chemical exposures posed by the nearby wells.

As a consequence, the family will be seeing an Edmonton toxicologist next month. "The look you get from doctors when you try to explain your concerns regarding industry activity affecting your family's health is one of pure disregard and disbelief," says Daunheimer.

Sour gas, a cyanide-like poison toxic to humans and animals at low concentrations, sinks and collects in low areas, and the Daunheimer's house is located in a depression. The family says they could smell sour gas for years.

Sour gas site about 400 metres south of the Daunheimer property. Photo: Diana Daunheimer.

The company swore the fumes didn't originate from their operation.

Daunheimer later discovered that the well was licensed to vent waste gases, but that no one notified the family. An email from an Angle employee informed her of that fact. Regulatory records also revealed that compressor stations at two wells each released 15,000 cubic metres of waste gas every month.

Jacked up flaring

At that point Daunheimer began studying industry regulations, as well as the combustion efficiency and contents of flares.

She found studies by the Alberta Research Council that showed flares often burned with 62 per cent efficiency more than a decade ago, meaning landowners downwind often breathed as many as 150 highly toxic hydrocarbons.

Based on general emission reports filed with the regulator, as well as material safety and data sheets on fracking fluids, "We know now that we've been exposed to raw benzene," says Daunheimer.

More and more Albertans are being exposed to the same kind of materials that have contaminated airsheds wherever tight oil booms and fracking have exploded, such as Texas and North Dakota.

Due to a dramatic increase in fluid injection down horizontal wells driven by fiscal and royalty incentives, the amount of waste gas being vented or flared from oil wells has mushroomed in the province since 2006, as it did in North Dakota.

In its 2013 flaring report, the Alberta Energy Regulator directly attributes a 25.9 per cent increase from 2011 to 2012 in the disposal of flared waste gas into the air "to an increase in new crude oil production and low gas prices, which makes the economic viability of conservation more challenging."

The regulator blamed the increase in flared gas to "the number of horizontal multistage fracturing operations in 2012. It takes longer to recover load fluids and clean out wells in these operations, which results in greater flare volumes and flaring duration."

Daunheimer also encountered large sump pits, or dugouts designed to store drilling waste, at a newly fracked wellsite northeast of her property in July 2012. (Another wellsite south of her home sported stacks of pipes leaking oil.)

She suspected the sump pits were illegal because they could leach water contaminated with hydrocarbons into groundwater or the nearby Rosebud River.

Alberta Environment, one of two provincial agencies responsible for groundwater protection, expressed concern, but said it couldn't do anything, Daunheimer says.

Concerned about the safety of her own well water (chemical tests revealed problems), she then complained to the Alberta Energy Regulator.

One of its inspectors eventually checked out the unlined and unfenced pits. His report noted that the pits smelled "heavily of hydrocarbon-based drilling fluids." As a consequence, the regulator issued "a high-risk compliance order" against Angle to clean up the mess.

Daunheimer filed a freedom of information request to the government in order to get a copy of the enforcement order, which shut down the company for a day in 2012 while it removed the oily waste from one pit. It took the company another year to fully clean up the site.

Meanwhile, another branch of the Alberta government botched a drinking water well test that Daunheimer requested after a routine chemical sampling showed evidence of hydrocarbon contamination.

The government initially reported that its test "did not show anything of concern" last December, but after Daunheimer raised concerns about the quality of the testing, it later admitted in an email that "there were so many mistakes made by the lab in the first testing event" that they would have to resample the well.

There were also noise concerns. In Alberta, the oil and gas industry must keep its equipment at 50 decibels during the day and 40 decibels at night.

But a compressor station roared away in violation of regulations for two-and-a-half years, Daunheimer says, adding after she pointed out the violation to the regulator, the company quietly removed it.

By 2012, the company refused to talk to the family, while the regulator expressed frustration at Daunheimer's scores of emails and phone calls, she says.

Lost down the well

Although industry and government typically advertise fracking fluids as water-based and as harmless as guar gum in ice cream, Daunheimer found the opposite.

One well near her home, based on information she found on the industry website FracFocus, was primarily fracked with diesel fuel, light aromatic solvent naptha, and kerosene.

FracFocus, a voluntary registry set up by industry, lists the contents of hazardous fluids injected during fracking operations in North America, often three months after the fact. A Harvard legalstudy concluded in 2013 that the industry registry "prevents states from enforcing timely disclosure requirements, creates obstacles for compliance for reporting companies, and allows inconsistent trade secret assertions."

Other wells by Daunheimer's home were blasted with frac oil, synthetic frac oil or diesel invert (drilling fluid). Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on frac oil warn that the product is "highly flammable" and "contains benzene, a proven human carcinogen."

Diesel fuel also contains benzene, toluene and xylene. All can contaminate groundwater and cause cancer, kidney damage, liver damage, or harm to the brain if ingested by humans.

After checking well reports, Daunheimer raised particular concerns about the loss of 362,000 litres of diesel invert down one well near her home.

Industry refers to the disappearance of drilling fluids down the wellbore as "lost circulation."

At first the regulator explained to Daunheimer that industry never lost drilling fluid and that the hazardous substances couldn't migrate anywhere, she says.

But industry data she later foundindicated that every well in Western Canada loses between three and five cubic metres of drilling fluid per 100 metres drilled.

Daunheimer also raised questions about 20,050 litres of frac oil that disappeared down a well. After the regulator again told her not to worry, she checked industry data.

During fracking operations, industry only recovers about 20 per cent of the frack fluid sent down the well. Frack breakouts or hits that spill fluid and water into nearby wells have happened scores of times in British Columbia and Alberta.

The issue has been particularly intense for drilling and fracking tight oil formations along the Rockies in Alberta.

One servicing company recentlyexplained that fracking in these fields without a good reading of reservoir behaviour often runs "the risk of intersecting and/or reactivating geological structures such as faults during hydraulic fracture stimulation."

In addition, "faults may serve as conduits for large volumes of fluid, acting as a thief zone and re-directing fluid and proppant [sand] away from the treatment zone and wasting valuable time and money. In naturally fractured formations, an additional risk of diverting frac fluid into faults is the risk of generating induced seismicity of large enough magnitude to be felt on the surface."

According to Daunheimer, the regulator later assured her that the loss of the drilling fluid couldn't be classed as a spill or toxic release. Its employees reasoned that "the chemical was lost most likely in a hydrocarbon bearing formation so that would not constitute a known loss to the environment," says Daunheimer.

A 2012 study by U.S. hydrologist Tom Myers estimated that man-made fractures combined with natural faults in heavily drilled fields might well speed up the rate of fluid migration from drilling or fracking such that "contaminants could reach the surface areas in tens of years, or less."

'I'd say it's got to stop'

Daunheimer also raised questions about methane leaks at the wellsites, or what industry calls surface casing vent flow. That's when methane bubbles out of the wellbore into groundwater, soil or the atmosphere.

It's an issue that particularly plagues wells that have been subjected to the wear and tear of hydraulic fracturing. According to Alberta studies, nearly one-third to 70 per cent of all deviated or horizontal wells leak.

The methane leaks are also expensive to fix. One 2010 Alberta industry paper ruefully noted: "The repair of these situations is a non-revenue generating exercise with the potential to reach significant expenditures."

An inspection by a summer student found one leak on an Angle well near Daunheimer's home in 2010. Daunheimer checked Alberta's regulations and found that the company hadn't reported or fixed the leak for three years. The energy regulator later confirmed her analysis, but did little else, she says.

"As I mentioned previously you are correct that Angle Energy did not report the surface casing vent flow at the 14-15-031-02W5 well to the AER in the proper manner," emailed Tyler Callicott, a manager of enforcement and surveillance in the Red Deer office of the Alberta Energy Regulator, earlier this year.

After Calgary-based Bellatrix bought out Angle for a half a billion dollars last year, it assumed all of Angle's liabilities.

The regulator did not reprimand Bellatrix because Callicott "did not find sufficient evidence that they were aware of the vent flow."

Explained Callicott: "I did find evidence that Angle Energy was aware of the vent flow and failed to report it, as Angle Energy is no longer the licensee of this well and no longer an active licensee I will not be issuing a non-compliance to them."

Daunheimer now regards the regulator's claim that they protect landowners and the environment as a joke. "I have come to see the [regulator] as nothing short of a bodyguard to the industry," she says. After Daunheimer filed her lawsuit against Angle last December, the regulator told her that it was done with her and was closing her file, she says.

On Feb. 10, Daunheimer alerted the board that three wellsites near her home had flared beyond their legal 72-hour period. She wondered "if the companies had properly requested extensions to flare further."

The next day she received a reply from Jen Lutz, director, community relations, Alberta Stakeholder Engagement Branch of the Alberta Energy Regulator.

It read: "On Dec. 19 we discussed Angle's facilities near your location. The files have been closed and we are not going to review further historical operational performance concerns. These files have been thoroughly reviewed and enforcement actions were issued."

Carrie Rosa, senior advisor for the Alberta Energy Regulator's public affairs, explained that "Any non-compliances that were identified at the time, were dealt with and the follow up was completed. Any new complaints regarding current operational issues continue to be accepted."

Furthermore, "The [regulator] was not able to verify or confirm Ms. Daunheimer's assertions regarding flaring contraventions and therefore could not take action."

But Daunheimer hasn't closed her file on the impacts of horizontal hydraulic fracturing.

"I'd say it's got to stop," says Daunheimer. "The volumes of benzene and other highly toxic substances that have been used, burnt, spilled and injected into the land, air and water about us is staggering and frightening."

Meanwhile, Daunheimer is preparing to take her case to court. "I'm taking this to the next highest level possible."

Angle denies all of Daunheimer's claims. In its statement of defence filed in early February, the company writes: "None of these instances of non-compliance resulted in the escape of toxic chemicals, drilling waste, flare gases, or other noxious substances onto the Daunheimer Property."

The company "denies that its oil and gas operations contributed to or caused the injuries and damages alleged in [Daunheimer's] Statement of Claim."

It adds that "allegations in the Statement of Claim that are critical of the [Alberta Energy Regulator], its investigator, its directives, and [allegations] that the AER is funded and controlled by the oil and gas industry... are false."

The regulator is funded 100 per cent by the oil and gas industry and is directed by Gerard Protti, a former lobbyist and founder of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

Last December Bellatrix offered Daunheimer $50,000 to drill a new water well and plant some trees if she would withdraw her lawsuit. But the determined mother declined the offer.

"Are you kidding?" she says. "I'm so not done yet."

*Correction, Feb. 28 at 12:30 p.m.: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Diana Daunheimer has a university science degree.

Cynthia Jonasson wrote this incredible and terribly upsetting book about her mother's mistreatment in a local long-term seniors' care facility. The book receives a launch and discussion event this weekend.

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On My Mother's Behalfby Cynthia Jonasson157 pages$14.25Can be purchased in store at Chapters or online through Amazon.ca or PageMaster.

It’s a tragic story that simply had to be told. Cynthia Jonasson’s mother, Grace Denyer, passed away four years ago. She was a resident of a local long-term seniors care facility and was mistreated time and time again by staff and managers alike.

Mistreatment is an understatement.

The story made the headlines, but media coverage doesn’t fix what happened. It can only work to prevent the problem from happening again.

That’s why Jonasson (along with her sister Beth Podgurny acting as editor) decided that the story was too important to fade into the background. After all, it’s not the only story that has come out of people’s experiences within ‘the System.’ On My Mother’s Behalf is their new book, recently published and set to receive a book launch and discussion event this Saturday.

For all intents and purposes, it’s one of the most difficult stories that I have ever had to read. It’s also one of the best written: astute, precise, and brutally honest. The only thing that allays the anger that arises from hearing what happened to this woman and her family is the pleasure of reading a piece of non-fiction so professionally produced despite being from a novice author.

Some stories are that important. Jonasson said that it all started as a simple journalling as a way of recording the traumatic events instead of having them always in her head.

“The process of writing started as a cathartic exercise for me,” she began. “Beth took my writings, edited and organized them, and insisted that the story be shared. The decision to publish was tough. At times, I wanted to put my writing on the shelf. However, Beth encouraged me to share the story. In my heart, I knew she was right.”

Sharing the story is one thing but On My Mother’s Behalf is very careful to not name either the facility or the people in the health-care system who were involved. One could simply search through websites of organizations such as the Elder Advocates of Alberta Society to get an education on this and many other cases.

This book very carefully details not only Grace’s physical and psychological mistreatment but also the legal and political fallout that included legislative debate and Jonasson nearly being thrown in jail for her continued calling out of such systemic abuses.

While Grace’s story is now all a matter of record in the newspaper articles and the government reports, it was far more compelling for Jonasson to be non-specific because of how far-reaching the mistreatment goes. Grace, the author says, wasn’t alone.

“Ours is not a unique story. Many seniors and families have had and continue to have similar experiences in many different facilities. To focus on one facility would diminish the pervasiveness of these issues.”

The issues revolve around the lack of basic care and extend into outright abuse. Several times while reading the book, I found myself unable to tolerate even the thought of a person having to suffer as Grace did. I have no personal connection with anyone currently in such a facility but I was outraged. Such is the power of this story.

At the very beginning, Jonasson suggests that people wouldn't believe that it was an accurate retelling of actual events. She later clarified that she wrote this because she couldn’t believe it herself.

“I was experiencing my mother being neglected and abused right before my very eyes and couldn’t do anything about it or stop it. I hope to give a voice to those who are unable to speak for themselves. To bring about awareness. Most people are unaware of what many seniors and their families experience in ‘the System’ until they encounter it themselves.”

“I hope that if I require the same level of care, by that time, ‘the System’ will have improved and no one will be experiencing what many are experiencing today.”

The book has already had two book launch events including one at the Chapters store here in St. Albert. Jonasson and Podgurny indicated that people continue to approach them to tell them their own stories from past and ongoing experiences “often in tears.” They have received thanks even from people working inside these facilities, some of whom she suggested were too afraid to speak out on their own. She encourages readers to be aware of agencies such as Public Interest Alberta and Persons for Protection in Care to get help.

The event takes place on Saturday, June 25 from noon to 4 p.m. Audreys Bookstore is located at Jasper Ave. in Edmonton. Visit www.onmymothersbehalf.ca for more information.

On My Mother's Behalf A Daughter's Story

Public Interest Alberta

February, 2012

Media Statement

March 14, 2012

Release Date June 6th, 2016!

Julie Ali The Podgurny sisters are amazing and everyone should read their book. The unacceptable suffering of their mother is an indictment of the callous disregard of all governments -PC and NDP to the plight of our most vulnerable at risk seniors in continuing care. For those seniors and handicapped citizens who have family to advocate for them -there is always the risk of retribution; this risk has not been remedied by the weak response of Sarah Hoffman. Why has there been no effort by Sarah Hoffman and the NDP caucus to amend the Trespass to Premises legislation that allows any continuing care provider or hospital facility to ban and restrict families from contact with their loved ones? Instead of amending this unfair piece of Tory developed legislation we have a weak internal to AHS appeal policy that has no ability to correct injustices of any sort. Such an appeal policy is for show and not for correction. A just society model requires true remedy. When will Sarah Hoffman and the NDP folks do the job we have hired them to do? Or will they be fired and we will have to hire new people to government to do the will of the people of Alberta. Stand up for your families folks. Do what the Podgurny sisters courageously did--speak out, write about the hell family members go through and the failures of the government of Alberta to do anything about these abuses in continuing care.----------------On My Mother's Behalf A Daughter's Story------------------------Follow the story behind the headlines: blackmail; top political leaders ‘washing their hands’ of the situation, while other leaders wanting a front row seat; politicians debating her private care eviction in the legislature; nearly being thrown in jail; lawyers holding back disclosure; witnessing their mother's neglect and abuse by those entrusted to her care; and government watchdogs unwilling to fulfil their mandate.

How is one reborn after a fall? by Muriel Barbery

14. From Passageway to Pathway

What is this war we are waging, when defeat is so certain? Day after day, already wearied by the constant onslaught, we face our terror of the everyday, the endless passageway that, in the end--because we have spent so much time walking to and fro between its walls---will become a destiny. Yes, my angel, that is our everyday existence:dreary, empty, and mired deep in troubles. The pathways of hell are hardy foreign; we shall end up there one day if we tarry too long. From passageway to pathway; it is an easy fall, without shock or surprises. Every day we are reacquainted with the sadness of the passageway and step by step we clear the path towards our mournful doom.Did he see the pathways? How is one reborn after a fall? What new pupils restore sight to scorched eyes? Where does war begin, where does combat end?